02 February 2019

Johnny Lion (1941-2019)

On Thursday 31 January 2019, Dutch singer and actor Johnny Lion (1941-2019) passed away. From 1959 on, he had success with his band the Jumping Jewels. Solo, he had single luck with the evergreen Sophietje. He also appeared in some Dutch films.

Johnny Lion (1941-2019)
Big Dutch postcard by SYBA and MUVA. Photo: N.V. Phonogram, Amsterdam.

Johnny & His Jewels


Johnny Lion was born as Johannes Jacobus Petrus van Leeuwarden in The Hague in 1941. 'John' attended the Mulo and aspired to go into trade.

In 1959 he formed the band Johnny & His Jewels with a number of school friends, later renamed The Jumping Jewels. This group, formed after the commercial rocker Cliff Richard, scored a number one hit with 'Wheels' in 1961 and was then very successful in the Netherlands until 1965.

In 1965, Van Leeuwarden left the group to continue as a Dutch-speaking solo singer, named Johnny Lion. This immediately earned him the great hit 'Sophietje' (1965), the Swedish song 'Fröken Fräken' by Thore Skogman on a Dutch text written by Gerrit den Braber and dedicated to his girlfriend and business partner Sophie van Kleef.

The following year he scored another hit with 'Tjingeling' (1966). Lion and Van Kleef opened a clothing boutique with the name 'Sophie en Johnny' in de Oude Leliestraat in Amsterdam. Among their clients were Sonny and Cher and The Golden Earrings.

After 'Tjingeling', Lion did not get any real hits anymore. In 1965, he got a contract to sing at the Circus Boltini, together with another Dutch singer, Rob de Nijs. Lion also appeared in the Dutch film Liefdesbekentenissen/Confessions of Loving Couples (Wim Verstappen, 1967) with Ramses Shaffy and Michael York. His boutique 'Sophie en Johnny' was one of the sets of the film. The shop continued to exist until their relationship ended in 1970.

Johnny Lion (1941-2019)
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. AX 5447. Photo: Philips.

Johnny Lion (1941-2019)
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. AX 5487. Sent by mail in 1963.

In bed with Johnny Lion


In later years, Johnny Lion occasionally let himself be heard as a singer, including with the single 'Alleen in Dallas' (Alone in Dallas) (1988), which became a modest hit, and with the title song of the film Brandende Liefde/Burning Love (Ate de Jong, 1983), starring Monique van de Ven.

On these records he used the name John Lion. Van Leeuwarden had continued to work at Circus Boltini after his singing career, now as press officer. Later he also wrote columns for the weekly magazine Panorama and in 1995, he created for that magazine the series In bed with Johnny Lion, together with photographer Govert de Roos.

He also worked as a journalist for various magazines and newspapers, including ten years (2001-2011) as editor-in-chief of the SENA Performers Magazine.

Johnny Lion was also again active as an actor. He appeared in the Dutch features Siberia (Robert Jan Westdijk, 1998), with Roeland Fernhout, and Van God Los/Godforsaken (Pieter Kuijpers, 2003), starring Tygo Gernandt and Angela Schijf. He also played a washed-up folk singer, who contemplates suicide in the TV film Novellen: Hollandse held/Novels: Dutch hero (Robert-Jan Westdijk, 1996) with Tanja Jess.

Since the 1980s, Johnny Lion lived in Breda, in the south of the Netherlands. There he died on 31 January 2019, after a long illness. Johnny Lion was 77.

Johnny Lion (1941-2019)
Dutch postcard by 't Sticht, Utrecht. Photo: Philips grammofoonplaten. Sent by mail in 1965.

Johnny Lion (1941-2019)
Johnny Lion with Anneke Grönloh, Willeke Alberti and the Young Sisters. Dutch postcard by N.V. v.h. Weenenk & Snel, Baarn, no. 963. Photo: Phonogram / Philips.


Johnny Lion sings Sophietje.

Sources: Wikipedia (Dutch) and IMDb.

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